GAP Data

The GAP project shows that both increasing the number of reimbursed therapies and eliminating criteria that narrow the access is a must. Indicators are confirming that the time lag between drug registration and reimbursement shall be reduced, and access to diagnostics shall be improved in a significant manner. Challenges related to the reimbursement procedures and timely access to diagnostics are areas where joint action is needed.

The largest GAP for V4 was identified in common diseases compared to oncology and rare diseases. The number of available drugs is limited in all countries, especially for Parkinson's disease. Diabetes and rare haemato-oncological diseases (acute myeloid leukemia and lymphomas) have the greatest variation between V4 countries, indicating large inequalities in access to the latest health technologies. The most equal scores between the included countries were observed in the 3 most commonly diagnosed cancers - breast, lung and prostate cancer.

In each of the analyzed diseases, at least major limitations in access to the latest therapeutic options as well as the rapid diagnosis were identified. On the example of these selected disease entities, it can be concluded that similar limitations exist in other diseases. This means that patients in V4 countries are not treated in the most optimal way as indicated in clinical guidelines. This contributes to suboptimal health outcomes, increased DALY burden, and increased indirect costs.